This invention relates generally to articles that are worn on a person's hand, and more particularly to such articles having cutaneous sensory elements for heightening the tactile sensitivity of the wearer.
In one known model of mechanoreception (in which skin is stimulated due to tactile receptors that respond to mechanical stimuli, e.g., a change in pressure), referred to as a four-channel model, four information-processing channels exist for the human skin (e.g., including on one's hand), with each channel being mediated by a morphologically distinct receptor type innervated by a specific nerve fiber type and tuned to a different range of frequencies. In general, the four psychophysical channels at their absolute thresholds have overlapping frequency characteristics for detection of sinusoidal vibration, with each channel optimally tuned to a specific region of the spectrum. As individuals age, their tactile acuity decreases making it more difficult from them to feel objects, especially objects with smooth surfaces. For example, in one known study a 20 decibel (dB) or ten fold reduction in tactile sensitivity between 20 year old subjects and 80 year old subjects was identified. See Gescheider et al., The Effects of Aging on Information-Processing Channels in the Sense of Touch: I. Absolute Sensitivity, Somatosensory and Motor Research, Vol. 11, No. 4, 1994, pp. 345-357. In addition, the Gescheider et al. study showed that the decrease in tactile sensitivity occurred at a younger age in male subjects as compared to female subjects. In other words, the male subjects exhibited a greater decrease in tactile sensitivity compared to the female subjects of the same age.
There is a need, therefore, to provide a person with an increased mechanoreceptor response when grasping objects, and in particular relatively smooth surface objects.